Bobby Roode vs Shinsuke Nakamura (1-28-2017)

Bobby Roode vs Shinsuke Nakamura
****1/4

January 28, 2017Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, TXNXT Takeover: San AntonioNXT Heavyweight Championship

This was the main event of the Takeover show over Royal Rumble weekend. These two had been accused of holding back and taking it easy in recent months, choosing to instead get by on their charisma and persona. Of course, that’s what they SHOULD be doing, so that they save their bumps and bruises for the main roster instead of destroying their bodies for the much smaller NXT audience. Both of these men aren’t spring chickens, so they should absolutely nurture and preserve their banged up bodies as much as possible until it’s their time in the big leagues.

With that said, they had an excellent match that shut up their critics. However, it was also a very safe match that relied on, get this, selling and psychology. You know, the two things veterans have taught for decades but the younger generation ignores them and then proceeds to destroy their bodies and shorten their careers.

Shinsuke Nakamura did such a great sell job that several “smart” fans at home questioned whether he really did destroy his knee. BobbyRoode was very good as well, and without question he’s a main event player and should make a big ‘impact’ when he comes to the main roster. If I’m booking this program, I rematch the two at Takeover in Orlando and then debut Nakamura on the Raw after WrestleMania.

This match is only available on the WWE Network, but here’s a clip:

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